Root Cellar to be Featured on FGS Radio

FGS Blog Radio Logo

GREAT NEWS!!

FGS member society Root Cellar is excited to have been selected to be in the Society Spotlight next Saturday on FGS Blog talk radio.  This is a wonderful opportunity to promote the activities and benefits of our Society.  Denise Richmond, Publicity Chairperson, will serve as spokesperson and will be interviewed live by show host Thomas MacEntee at the end of the weekly episode.  

The Root Cellar blog talked about how to access FGS blog radio here. Tune in early so you don't miss a minute!

Read the announcement for the next episode:

Join us for the next episode of FGS Radio - My Society, an Internet radio show on Blog talk Radio presented by the Federation of Genealogical Societies.

Saturday, November 12, 2011
2-3pm Eastern US
1-2pm Central US
12-1pm Mountain US
11am-12pm Pacific US

This week’s episode hosted by Thomas MacEntee is entitled Genealogy and the Vital Records Access Crisis. Our guest will be Frederick E. Moss, FGS legal advisor and member of the Records Access and Preservation Committee, a joint committee of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the National Genealogical Society, and the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies. Fred will help us understand how access to vital records is currently being threatened and what you can do to ensure access for all genealogy and family history researchers. In addition, we’ll be highlighting FGS member society, Root Cellar - Sacramento Genealogical Society in our weekly Society Spotlight feature. Read the guest bios on the FGS Blog.

My Society is presented by the Federation of Genealogical Societies and each week we tackle the issues that confront genealogy societies.

posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

You're Invited to the Fixing Flawed Fotos Presentation

If you have faded, scratched, spotted or over-exposed photos then help is on the way!


All are invited to hear Sandra Hart speak at the next Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society meeting.

• Date:  Wednesday, November 9, 2011
• Time:  7 pm - 8:30 pm
• Place:  Citrus Heights Community Clubhouse, 6921 Sylvan Road, Citrus Heights, California
• Program:  "Using Photoshop Elements for Genealogy"
• Contact:  Sandi Benward  (916) 412-3511

Sandra will discuss how to use Photoshop Elements software for your photos and other images.  She will also talk about free software, such as pixlr and the helpful instructional videos on the Adobe website that show you how to do all of the important things with Photoshop Elements if you learn better by watching it being done than reading about it.
See you there!

posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

Shop Amazon. Help Root Cellar.



Amazon logo on Root Cellar website

Have you heard?  The Amazon.com affiliate program has returned due to a recent California legislative change.  Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society participates in this Amazon program and receives a percentage on every purchase you make.

BUT, you must use the special link on the homepage of our website to access Amazon.com in order for Root Cellar to receive the credit. 

Here's how:

• Go to the Root Cellar website
• Click on the Amazon.com logo (aka the special link)
• Bookmark or add the special Amazon.com URL to your Favorites
• Begin shopping!

The holidays are around the corner - save time by shopping at Amazon and help Root Cellar at the same time.  Thanks!

If you have any questions about this, don't hesitate to send an email to us - we'll gladly help.

posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

Thankful Thursday: Volunteers Who Transcribe Original Records

Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society is thankful for its devoted Records Extraction Team lead by past president Marilyn Ulbricht. The term 'extraction' sounds down right painful, but it is far from it.


This group of volunteers would probably describe their transcription work as a way of giving back to the genealogy community, possibly a labor of love and certainly educational.  Reference books are always at hand to clarify a place name or cause of death terminology of a bygone era like dropsy and marasmus.

Every Friday morning the team assembles at the Center for Sacramento History. Each volunteer has a record book from which to extract entries.  The books are fragile and cumbersome to manage, some measuring nearly 18 inches square. Great care is taken to protect crumbling spines and delicate pages.  Pat Johnson, Senior Archivist at the Center, welcomes the volunteers and the extraction project because it will increase public access to the records via published indexes and promote preservation of the actual books by reducing or eliminating handling.

The team's current project is huge:  extracting Sacramento County Coroner's Office records from 1887 - 1969.  These original records are held at the Center for Sacramento History which acquired them through the efforts of the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery Committee.  The work of these dedicated volunteers will culminate in a 20 volume record set.  As of this writing, Book 13, covering the 1930s to 1940s, was just completed and sent to the printer!

According to Marilyn Ulbricht, "Coroner Records are a gold mine of information - they give clues to follow which can really get through some brick walls.  They really tell a story of life!"  Marilyn continues "Not everyone was buried in a potter's grave as there were contracts with various cemeteries in the area to bury decedents whose family was unable to bury them". 

The books contain inquisition certificates, inquests, receipts for property, indigent burial records, disposal of bodies and property, and buried location.  The information to be gleaned from each book includes place, date or cause of death; date and arrangements for burial; and property description and name and relationship of the person receiving such property.  These are valuable clues for the family history researcher.

Thank you again for your tremendous contribution to Root Cellar and the genealogy community!

This publication and others can be read at the Root Cellar Genealogical Library located inside the California State Archives, 1020 "O" Street, 4th floor, Sacramento, California.  You may also contact us about purchase. 

 

Thankful Thursday is just one of the blog themes suggested on GeneaBloggers.  Get your family research noticed here; send a short story and/or image to rootcellarsgs@gmail.com.

 

posted by Denise HIbsch Richmond

Wordless Wednesday: Women Proprietors 1850-1930

Cover photo of the index compiled by members of the Extraction Committee from records held at the Center for Sacramento History

 and published by Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society

 More info about lookup or purchase

Wordless Wednesday is just one of the blogging themes suggested on GeneaBloggers.  Get your family research noticed here; submit a short story or image to rootcellarsgs@gmail.com.

posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

Sassy Jane's Tuesday's Tip: Time to Stock Up on Archival Supplies

Sassy Jane Genealogy Blog: Archives & Family History: Tuesday's Tip: Time to Stock Up on Archival Suppli...: Want to shop where professional archivists get their archival supplies? And how about a 15 percent discount at the same time? Then ...

Sassy Jane always has something helpful on her blog. Today's post was no exception.  The word "sale" and "archival supplies" caught my eye.  I may need these supplies as I begin tackling the piles of stuff on my side of the home office that I share with my husband Scott.  I call it Mt. Genealogy but there are papers to be shredded in the foothills!  Thanks Sassy!

posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

Tuesday's Tip: Google Shortcut Changes

Have you heard?  Those wily programmers at Google have made a change that impacts our Google web searches.  The + sign is no longer functional in a search string; it's been replaced.  To search for an exact word or phrase now, use double quotation marks.

One of my current Google Alerts is:

"morrow county" +ohio

Now, I need to change it to:

"morrow county" "ohio"

The minus sign still works though, as in "clinton county" ohio -jail.  (I was getting too many jailed persons alerts!)

The tilde sign ~ also works like the + sign used to.

I would not have known about this change had I not been subscribed to and read about it in (Dick) Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsetter and Lisa Louise Cooke's The Genealogy Gems E-Newsletter of 26 Oct 2011.  Other search tools are available at Google Support.

Tuesday's Tip is just one of the blogging themes suggested on GeneaBloggers.  Get your ancestors noticed here  --  select a blogging theme from the page tab above and send an image or short story to rootcellarsgs@gmail.com. 

posted by Denise HIbsch Richmond